Change is Inevitable
by RiTzABeE89
Summary: Harry's violence is taking control. He's turned against his friends & put them in danger. Draco finds that he has a bit of good in him and decides to protect Herm, when something unexpected happens. Tempers flare, romance ignites, and everything changes.
1. The Duel

"Don't you dare ever insult me like that again, Malfoy!" Harry was standing over Draco with his wand pointed at Draco's throat. Draco swallowed and Harry saw his Adams Apple vibrate as it carried the saliva down into his stomach.   
"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?" Harry bellowed.   
Draco sat on the ground too much in shock to say anything. What did Potter think he was doing anyway?   
"I ASKED YOU A QUESTION, MALFOY!" Harry persisted   
Harry seemed as though he had had a bad summer with those muggles he lived with, so Malfoy decided to be his usual self and take advantage of the situation. A slow smirk appeared on his face as he said,   
"Why? What are you gunna do, Potter? Send your daddy after me?"   
Harry lost control, he pushed Draco down so that he was laying completely sprawled on the floor. "WHAT DID YOU SAY?"   
"Shut up, Potter, your going to get us caught."   
"I'm warning you Malfoy, one more word out of your mouth and--"   
"And what? You'll curse me? Oh, but what about losing your _precious_ house points? You wouldn't wanna do tha--" but Draco couldn't finish his sentence. Harry had jumped on top of Draco and punched him in the nose. Harry leaned towards Draco again to punch him some more, but then appeared to have thought better of it. Instead, he reached for his wand. Draco saw him mutter something to his wand and remembered feeling a pain through his body that felt like a thousand swords going through him, and then everything was black.

---

It was the first day of school and they had been in the trophy room. Draco had once again challenged Harry to a duel. Reluctantly, Harry accepted, after making sure that Draco would be there. They each showed up at about the right time (Draco was fashionably late), and then they were just about to start the duel when Draco had insulted Harry. It was not a particularly cruel one, but Harry seemed to have taken it way to seriously.   
Now, Draco was lying unconscious in the hospital wing. No one was by his bed, and no one had come to visit him yet. He hadn't gotten any presents or cards. No one seemed to care about him. The day passed and Draco's condition hadn't changed, Madam Pomfrey kept coming in and fussing over him. After dinnertime, Crabbe and Goyle appeared at the doorway. Goyle was in front, and Crabbe was practically pushing him towards Draco. The two looked like someone had forced them to come see Draco. Draco didn't see any of this of course, he was still out cold.   
When they finally got near him, Crabbe put a piece of parchment on Draco's bedside table and nearly ran out of the room. Goyle watched him leave and then quickly reached in his pocket and pulled out a Bertie Botts Every Flavor Bean. He looked at it for a while, and then at Draco, as if deciding if Draco was really worth it. He kept this up for a couple of minutes and then popped the bean in his mouth. He was walking out, when he must have realized that he should do something for his 'friend' and so he took out a handful of the beans, carefully looked through them until he found a dark brown disgusting looking one, and left that on top of the card Crabbe had left. 

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The next morning, Draco was still motionless. Nothing happened the whole day, Harry didn't even seem to feel bad about what he had done. Draco didn't really expect him to, but still, there was something different about him this year. At about 3:30, Pansy Parkinson came in. She peeked in slowly, and cautiously walked in. "Draco, sweetie?" she said with a horrible smile on her pug face.   
"are you awake? Can you hear me? See me?" she waved her hand in front of his face.   
"good." she said flatly, all the sweetness immediately vanishing from her voice. He smile was now gone too, "what'd you do to yourself this time, you spoiled brat?" She seemed quite heartless now.   
"Why are you so spoiled? You get everything you want. You know you don't deserve it. And then I always have to act like I actually _like_ you. Why should I? But my parents say I have to marry into a _rich and respected _family. I tell them that I'm not getting married for a while, but they want me to be a Malfoy. I don't understand why, there are plenty of other rich families around. Why do my parents want me to be with _you _of all people? I would much rather be with someone else. But I'm getting paid lots of money if we get together, even if we break up the next day, so I'll just have to work my charm, and then I'll dump you. No biggie, right? You'll understand won't you?" she finished and her horrible smile was back now. She walked out of the hospital wing and came back in ten minutes. She had with her a present and a piece of parchment neatly folded into a heart. Then she left the hospital wing. 

-----

Draco woke later that evening. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Madam Pomfrey standing over him. "finally," she said when she saw his eyes open.   
"You've been out for a good two days. What happened to you?"   
Suddenly Draco remembered everything that had happened; he remembered exactly what had happened with Harry. "nothing" he quickly lied. "can I go?" he asked. Draco couldn't wait to get his hands on Harry and make sure he got what he deserved.   
"no." Madam Pomfrey said firmly, yet calmly. "you have to stay another day, so I can be sure you're alright. It looks like someone put a very powerful curse on you." she looked at Draco suspiciously, "you don't recall anything like that, do you dear?"   
"of course not" Draco lied again. 

A/n:: OK, please R&R and tell me what ya think… the story will get a lot better soon… 

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, or anything that is in any of the Harry Potter books. All of that belongs to the extremely talented J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is the plot. 


	2. The Hospital Wing

When Madam Pomfrey left, Draco looked over to his bedside table. When he first saw Crabbe and Goyle's things, he was actually really pleased. He didn't think they would even figure out that something had happened to him. And it really must have been hard for them to give away a jelly bean, even if it was a dirt-flavored one. He threw the jelly bean away and read the parchment:   
_Drayco,   
Git betre.   
Frum, goule & crab_   
  
Draco threw that in the trash along with the bean. Then he saw the things that pansy had left him. He picked up the card. It was folded into the shape of a heart, he unfolded it slowly and read:   
  
_Dear Draco,   
I really do hope you are feeling better. What happened to you? I'm sure it wasn't your fault, whatever it was. Be sure to do everything Madam Pomfrey tells you, so that you can get better as soon as possible. Everyone in Slytherin misses you, (though not as much as I do) and we wish you the best. Get well soon.   
With Much Love,   
Pansy Parkinson_   
  
Draco folded the letter back up and smiled to himself. _she must really like me _he thought to himself,_ Its too bad that I don't feel the same way about her. _Draco picked up the package that came with the card and started unwrapping it. 

-------

Just then Madam Pomfrey came hurrying in. "Now, now you need your sleep, Mr. Malfoy. You can look at that later. Come on now, get some rest." She pulled Draco's sheets over him and took the package and put it on his bedside table again. Normally, Draco wouldn't have listened to her, but the curse seemed to have drained him of all his strength. He laid his head down on his lumpy pillow, and fell asleep instantly.   
Draco woke up again, looked around, and saw that it was dark outside. In fact, it was so dark he couldn't even see his hand right in front of him. He thought about opening pansy's gift, but thought better of it, since he knew he wouldn't be able to even locate the box. 

---------

"Wake up, Malfoy!" Draco heard yelling by his bed.   
"Harry, be quiet. You don't have to wake him! Just leave the work here." came a softer, quieter voice. Draco's eyes were still closed, but he heard the voices loud and clear. "did I ask your opinion, Hermione?" came the yelling again. Draco didn't know what they were doing there. He rolled over, getting ready to wake up. "ok, Harry calm down, I didn't mean to offend you. Look, he's waking."   
Draco felt a jet of pain in his stomach. "Ow!" he exclaimed. He heard Hermione's voice again "Harry! I know you don't like him, but you don't have to hurt him more than he already is."   
"shut up! Come on! We gave him his books, now we can go!"   
"Harry! You rammed the books into his stomach. What's gotten into you lately?"   
"What's gotten into me?? I think you should be asking yourself that question! Defending Draco Malfoy, of all people!"   
Draco opened his eyes now and saw Hermione standing by his bed, her hand on his stomach, on top of the books. Harry was walking out, looking outraged.   
"Harry! I'm not defending him, but I mean, come on, he's not even awake!"   
"yea, I am" Draco grunted.   
"oh," Hermione's cheeks turned a darker color and she then said "well, here are your books, the homework is written on this parchment."   
"why are you bringing them to me?" said Malfoy looking at her coldly.   
"Snape told Harry to bring them."   
"ok, then you can leave now." Draco said 

----------

Hermione rushed out of the room, but Harry stayed. "what do you think your doing? Saying things like that to her?"   
"you were worse." said Draco calmly   
"what? When was I worse?"   
"just now, you went off on her about defending me. She wasn't defending me, she was just trying not to get you expelled by killing me." Draco saw Hermione's head peek in the room. She looked too scared to say anything.   
"a few books in your stomach won't kill you, It would just wake you up."   
"well, it woke me up alright."   
A small squeak came from the doorway. Harry spun around and saw Hermione. "what are you still doing here?" Harry roared.   
"see, I told you. You're worse." came Draco's voice   
"I'm not worse"   
"well, I have an excuse for being how I am. I'm a Malfoy. I've always been rude to you and her. Why should it be such a shock now?"   
Harry stormed out of the room, grabbed Hermione's arm, and dragged her away. Malfoy couldn't help feel sorry for her. What was going on with Harry now? Harry had always been nice to her, and he had never cursed anyone before. Why the sudden change?   
Draco didn't have any time to worry about this now, because Madam Pomfrey came in again, and gave him a potion to drink which tasted strongly like butterbeer. 

--------

The potion made the pain go away instantly, but it made him fall asleep just as quickly. When he woke up again, he was determined to get to opening pansy's gift now, before Madam Pomfrey put him to sleep again. He sat up and looked outside, it was getting dark, probably around 7:00. Draco picked up pansy's gift and noticed that it was really, really heavy. He wondered what was in it, and so he unwrapped it. What he saw made him gasp. It was a huge box full of potions ingredients. It had everything from monkshood to powdered devil's snare to toads legs. Draco had never even considered buying something like this for himself. He had thought and dreamt about it many times, but he never though he would get it. It must have cost her a fortune. 

----------

He was looking carefully at everything in the package, when madam Pomfrey came in.   
"you don't have to say it. I'll go to sleep"   
"no, no" she said quickly, "you can leave now, you seem better. Just take this before you go."   
She handed him a goblet full of thick, brown, smoking liquid. Draco gave her a look that said clearly _'I'm not going to drink this,' _but she poured the liquid down his throat, and he nearly spit it all out. He managed to keep it in and force it down his throat. "what was THAT?" Draco asked rudely.   
"It will make you better. Be sure to come back to me if you feel anything strange."   
Draco looked at her for a second, and then left the hospital wing. 

--------

At first, Draco didn't know where to go. He didn't know how far into the day he was, so he couldn't tell what class he was supposed to be in. he decided to head for the common room. He got there pretty quickly and laid down on one of the couches. He let out a long sigh and started thinking about that night when Harry had cursed him. The insult that Draco had thrown out was nothing but a little way to pass the time until they could get their duel started, it had been not a big enough insult to curse someone over. Then Harry thought about that time in the hospital wing when Hermione and Harry had come to see him. Well, he couldn't really say that they had come to _see him _it was more like, they were forced to get him his home work, but that was beside the point. Harry had gone off on Hermione too, he wasn't nice to her, not even a little bit. After a long time of thinking, Crabbe and Goyle and a bunch of other Slytherins walked in. They were all talking loudly and soon they walked toward Draco and he was swept away with them to lunch. As they were leading him out, Draco noticed something. It wasn't his or Hermione's fault at all, there was something going on with Harry, and Draco had to find out what, before Harry got worse and cursed someone else.

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A/N: OK, I'm almost getting to the best parts of the story… don't give up on it yet…! Please R&R! J 

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, places, or anything that is in any of the Harry Potter books. All of that belongs to the extremely talented J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is the plot. 


	3. Revenge

Draco went through the day as usual, then the whole week. Nothing at all different was happening with Draco, and he had almost completely forgotten about Harry. The next week on Monday, Draco was going to his first lesson, Charms. It was then that he met up with Harry and his gang again. Draco was minding his own business, trying to avoid the urge to say anything to Harry, if Harry has been in a bad mood lately, Draco didn't want to take any risks. When Draco saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione trying to tell Hagrid that he was a good teacher, the temptations became too strong to resist.   
"Potter, give it up, you can lie to him as much as you want, but it wont make him any better." 

----------

Hagrid looked up at him and looked angry, but not nearly as angry as Harry. Draco wasn't surprised, and just turned around and walked away. Soon enough, Harry was right behind Draco. He turned around, "what do you want, Potter?"   
Harry didn't need to tell Draco what he wanted, because right then and there, he punched Draco, right on the nose.   
"what the hell?" Draco yelled through mouthfuls of blood.   
"you deserved it," Harry said so that it was barely more than a whisper.   
Hagrid was running over to them, along with Ron and Hermione, as soon as he got there he burst out, "Wha' happen'd here, 'arry? Malfoy, wha'did yeh do teh yerself, eh?"   
"_I_ didn't do anything to _myself--!" _  
"he fell and hit himself on that rock over there" Harry cut in. "he tripped on his own foot. I saw it myself" Harry said, failing to conceal a smirk.   
"WHAT?!? That's not true! He--"   
"I saved him, that's what I did. He would have had a lot more damage done to him if I hadn't caught him."   
Hagrid seemed to be taking in everything Harry said, but not a word of Draco's side of the story.   
"I'm so proud of yeh 'arry. Always helpin ou' those who yeh don' like very much." he shot a nasty look at Draco.   
"well, I'll award 20 points teh Gryffindor." Hagrid continued, "Let's start the lesson, eh?" 

-----------

The next morning Draco got out of bed slowly, he had dreamt that Harry had died. Draco went down into the Great Hall for breakfast. As soon as Harry saw Draco walk in, his face turned smug. Draco remembered his dream, and suddenly he had an idea. Harry _would _die. Well, Draco could fake his death. _no, no, no. that would be way too obvious and it wouldn't really be that great. What would it do to Harry?_ Draco thought. But Draco could fake someone else's death, and tell Harry. Harry would have to go see what was going on, maybe Draco could forge a note from someone saying someone had died and to go somewhere for funeral! The plan was coming together! But who? Who would be the one to die? It had to be someone that Harry would go to their funeral. _HAGRID _thought Draco, so suddenly, he almost said it aloud. Draco could say Hagrid had died, but, no, that wouldn't work either. Who else could it be? "Fang!" Draco did say it aloud this time. "what?" said Crabbe, who was sitting right next to him. "nothing" muttered Draco.   
Now, Draco had the plan all worked out. He would forge a note from Hagrid, saying that Fang had been killed. He would write that there would be a funeral that night in the Forbidden Forest! Harry would have to go, because Hagrid is a friend of his. Draco could tell McGonagall or Snape that he overheard Harry saying he was to go into the forest that night and Harry would be caught. No problem. Draco would probably end up telling Snape, because McGonagall didn't seem to like him too much.   
-----

But what if Hermione and Weasley were to turn up? He didn't want to do anything to them. Well, he wouldn't mind, but this was supposed to be for Harry and Harry only. This wasn't that big of a deal, Draco would simply write that he only wanted Harry to come, he didn't want too many people. Draco couldn't see how three people could be too many, but that was the only way. Draco decided to start bringing his plan into action that night, the funeral could be tomorrow, and he would make sure Harry got the note today.   
After all his classes, Draco ran up to his dormitory. He grabbed some parchment, but then realized that somehow he would have to forge Hagrid handwriting. He had never even seen it before. How was he supposed to forge it? Finally, Draco put this thought aside, he would do the best he could to fake it, maybe they would think Hagrid was so sad, his handwriting reflected it. 

----------

Soon the note was done. Draco read it over and over. Finally, he was content with it:   
  
_dear Harry,   
I don know how to tell you this, but…eh.. Fangs been killed Harry. I was planning on holding a burial tomorrow night. Don want too many people, I just want you to come. Don bring Ron and Hermione. Cant have too many people. Its in the dark forest tomorrow night. Around midnight. Please come.   
From Hagrid _  
  
Draco made sure to get a couple drops of water on the paper, so that it looked like tears, and he put in a couple of creases and wrinkles as a final touch. He looked at it and then went up to the owlry and sent it to Harry Potter. 

-----------

Draco was getting up to go tell Snape about Potter's plans for tonight, as he saw Crabbe walking into the common room with two cupcakes. He had a sudden idea. Draco ran quickly up to Crabbe and stole a cupcake, Crabbe yelled "hey!" and stuffed the first cupcake in his mouth.   
"Crabbe. I'll give this back to you if you do me a favor." Crabbe nodded.   
"go to Snape and tell him that Harry Potter is going to go into the forest tomorrow night at midnight. Tell him that you overheard him saying so." Crabbe looked at him, puzzled. "go now if you want your cupcake." Crabbe ran out the common room and to Snape's office. Draco turned around and went up to his dormitory to sleep, leaving the cupcake on the table by the couch

----------

The next morning, Draco watched Potter for any sign of knowing that he had gotten the note, but didn't see any. The night came soon enough and soon Draco was sitting by his dormitory window waiting to see Potter walking into the forest. At 11:45 Draco saw him walking into the forest, and at exactly midnight Draco saw Snape walking in the forest. Draco laughed out loud and got into his bed. He slept peacefully that night. 

---------

The next morning Draco got up quickly. He went down to the Entrance Hall to see how many points Gryffindor had. As he walked in to look at the great glass hourglasses that held the score for each House, he realized someone else was looking. He walked up to the points and saw that the other person was Hermione Granger.   
When she saw him, she took her eyes from the points and looked to the floor. Draco saw her cheeks get red as she said "sorry about the day when you were in the hospital." she said this extremely fast, and her cheeks got even redder.   
"what?" It took Draco a while to even realize that she had been talking to him, and then even longer to remember what she was talking about.   
"oh, yeah. I remember that" he said finally.   
"sorry about how Harry acted. He hasn't been himself lately" she continued.   
"yea, well, I had figured that out. Now if you'll excuse me I want to have a look at the points"   
"Slytherin's in the lead with 432, Hufflepuff has 401, Ravenclaw is in third place with 387, and then Gryffindor…" she trailed off.   
"how much does Gryffindor have?"   
"125" she said, still looking at the floor, she looked near tears.   
"oh, I see" Draco wanted more than anything to be happy and relieved that his plan had worked, but he wasn't. he felt empty, like he had done a horrible thing. This feeling was new to him. 

------

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Disclaimer: I **don't **own **any **of **this **other **than **the **plot! J **

A/n: **OK, **I **need **some **reviews! **Please **R&R! **Please! **I'm **desperate!!!!!! 


	4. Someone To Confide In

Draco didn't know what to do next. He just stood there, parts of him wanting to laugh and stalk away muttering about how Slytherin was going to win the house cup for sure this year, while other parts of him wanted to do something for Hermione. He couldn't explain this as much as he tried. He told himself that he was being stupid… why would he want to do anything for a little mudblood friend of Potters? Hermione finally took her eyes from the floor and looked up at Draco.   
"we lost so many points…" she said in such a low whisper, it was barely audible.   
"so?" Draco smirked, trying to regain his former self.   
"he got caught in the forest…" she continued   
Draco leaned against the wall… "why would I care?" he asked   
Draco thought he saw hurt in her eyes, but that couldn't be possible. He had always insulted her. Never had he said anything to her but sarcasim and cruelty… why was she so surprised to hear it now?

----------

Draco saw Hermione's cheeks go red and saw her walking towards him.   
"Malfoy!" she yelled, "I defended you that day in the hospital! I know I shouldn't have. Do you know how mad Harry got that I had stood up for YOU? I mean, sure he was being a little rude, but of course he was. You are so cruel, Malfoy, I don't know how you can live with yourself! I defended you! I chose to stick up for you… instead of my best friend!! Do you know how hard that was? Do you know how hard it was for me to forget the past four years of torture and defend you? Harry was so upset, you wouldn't believe it. And with everything that I did to help you, do you know what I got Draco Malfoy? You kicking me out of the hospital wing and Harry mad at me until now!" She stopped abruptly, he face had red blotches everywhere, and she was breathing deeply, yet quickly.   
"I do believe it," Draco said calmly   
"what?" she seemed so outraged   
"I believe how mad Harry got. I know how he can get" Draco said, remembering the duel a couple weeks ago.   
"how would you know?" she screamed but she didn't wait for him to answer, "Bye Malfoy!" she ran up the stairs, and Draco was left there, all alone. 

-------------

That night as Draco lay in his bed trying to fall asleep his mind went to work. What was it that Granger had said? That Draco wouldn't believe how mad Harry had gotten? How mad had he gotten? Draco knew that Harry would be violent to him, but would he do something like that to his own friends? To Hermione Granger? Images of Potter hurting Hermione kept crawling into his mind. Draco tried with all his might to ignore these. Why was he stressing so much over this? He didn't even care… or did he? After hours of thought on this subject, Draco finally drifted off to sleep. He was uneasy and had many bad dreams. One dream was so horrible he woke up in the middle of the night, his face sweating…

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__

Draco was standing in the middle of the Gryffindor common room. He had no idea why he was there, he just knew he had to get help. Help for what? _he wondered… The common room was deserted, and Draco assumed it was the middle of the night. He looked out the windows and saw the thin branches of the trees outside clawing at the windows. Thunder roared and lightening flashed. Suddenly Draco heard a scream… he had no idea as to where it came from. A second later he thought he must have imagined it, because the thunder outside was making so much noise he couldn't have heard a scream. Then there was another Draco clearly heard the words "no, stop!" It sounded like a girl. Draco ran up the stairs, he didn't know where the stairs led, but he had to help the girl. He found himself at a door and threw it open. He immediately knew he was in the girls dormitory. He hurriedly looked around and spotted two figures towards the back of the room. As he walked forward he noticed it was Potter, he was standing over someone… _Oh my God! It's Granger! _but it wasn't easy to tell. Her face was filled with blood and she was cowering against the wall in a way he had never seen someone do before. "please, Harry, stop!" she screamed… but he didn't stop. He kept beating her, over and over again, all over her body. "stop!" Draco yelled. Harry whipped around and lifted his wand. He muttered something under his breath and there was a flash of bright red light. _

-----

Draco tried to fall back asleep, but he couldn't. He knew he would never get any sleep having just woke up from a dream like that, so he decided to go down to the common room until breakfast. Draco looked up at the green and silver clock on the wall and saw that it was 2:13. _damn, its nowhere near breakfast time yet. _  
Draco sat on the couch thinking for a little while, but the silence gave him goosebumps. He got up and thought about going back to his dormitory… but what good would that do? He decided to go for a walk.   
Draco was walking outside by the lake when he heard something. It sounded like someone sniffing… were they crying? Draco walked toward the sound. "hello?" he said quietly. "is anyone here?"   
"who is it?" a female asked   
Draco walked closer and saw a girl sitting by a big tree with her head buried in her knees. Before Draco knew what he was doing, he walked over to the girl and tried to comfort her. "are you alright?" he asked.   
The girl looked up and Draco realized it was Hermione. Part of Draco wanted to get up and go shower at having been so near that girl, and yet… Yet the other part of him wanted to stay there, to find out what was wrong, to help make it better… _what are you thinking, you idiot? _Draco scolded himself, mentally _you can't comfort a Mudblood! _  
But just then, it didn't matter what Draco wanted to do with the situation, because Hermione threw herself on him and wrapped her arms around his neck, sobbing uncontrollably into his shirt. Draco had no idea what to do so he patted her awkwardly on the head saying "its ok" in what he hoped was a comforting voice, after all, he had never, in his entire life, had to comfort anyone before. 

-----

After a minute, Hermione looked up and when she saw Draco, the sadness from before nearly vanished. Instead there was anger.   
"Malfoy!" she yelled, "what are YOU doing here?"   
"I could ask the same of you Granger"   
"I-I- wait, why should I answer you? You didn't answer me!"   
"I was going for a walk" Draco said, but Hermione looked like she was waiting for more, he added "I couldn't sleep. Now, what are _you_ doing here?"   
"same as you" Draco raised his eyebrows.   
"then why are you crying?"   
"it's none of your business." she whispered, near tears again. Draco was going to get up and continue his walk, but he remembered his dream and had an idea.   
"does it have to do with Harry?"   
Hermione hesitated, "how did you--- I mean, why would you think that?"   
"because I know he's been acting , er, strangely lately."   
Hermione looked straight into Draco's eyes for the first time ever, her voice sounded gentle now, all the anger and hate was gone, and she spoke in a whisper, "how do you know?"   
Draco thought for a while if he should tell her about the duel. _this is crazy _Draco thought to himself, right before he decided to tell her. 

------

"well, you see, Potter and I decided to duel one day…"   
"when?" Hermione asked, startled.   
"a couple weeks ago… anyway, we swore that we would both show up-- and we did. Before the duel started, I … well, I made a comment about Potter's family" Hermione looked up at him again, the anger back in her eyes, but she didn't say anything.   
"well, I guess his temper got the best of him, and next thing I knew I was on the floor, begging him not to curse me…" Draco looked at the floor, remembering.   
"you were _begging? _" Hermione asked, disbelieving   
Draco decided that he had started the story so he might as well tell it how it really happened, "well, yes… actually," he laughed nervously "when I get, er, afraid… I tend to beg… but that's beside the point, so I was trying to convince him to leave me alone, but that didn't exactly work…"   
"_ Harry cursed you? _"   
"yea… and I ended up--"   
"in the hospital wing??? That's why you were there!"   
"exactly" 

------

"no! you're lying! Harry wouldn't do that!"   
"do you really know that? Both you and I know that he has been acting… well, _different_ and I thought he might be doing something to you and Weasley like he did to me, after all, he is with you two a lot more than me… I really have no idea what has come over him"   
Hermione sat, watching a ladybug crawl around the grass.   
"Has he?" Draco asked gently   
"what?"   
"has he been doing anything to you?"   
"no, he's a wonderful person, he doesn't do this kind of thing"   
"Hermione," Draco whispered softly, "if its not that, then why are you crying?" he asked taking her hands gently into his own and looking her in the eyes.

-----

Hermione, once again, let herself collapse onto Draco's shoulders, only this time she knew who it was. This time, however, Draco knew better than to tap her awkwardly on the head. He slowly put his arms around her and ran his fingers through her soft curls.   
"I'm sorry" she said after a while   
"for what?" Draco asked startled   
"for all of this… I shouldn't be crying on your shoulders. I shouldn't trouble you with my problems"   
"it's ok, Hermione, you need to tell someone" after a long pause, Hermione finally said "you're right"   
Draco nodded   
"Harry is the reason I'm crying. But he didn't curse me or hurt me… physically"   
"what did he do?"   
"he's just been so cruel lately… he has such a nasty temper. I have no idea why he does this, but he is always getting mad at everything, and saying horrible, horrible things." 

------

"I'm sorry" Draco said in an attempt to comfort her, her didn't have much else he could say.   
"why are you doing this? Why aren't you spitting on me and calling me a Mudblood and cursing everything about me?"   
"because…" Honestly, Draco had no idea why he had seemed to change so much "I'm just not"   
The two sat together in silence for a couple of minutes, then Hermione spoke up.   
"I know about the Care of Magical Creatures class. I saw Harry punch you…" She sighed, "I confronted him, asked him why he lied to Hagrid about what happened… but he just got mad again. H-he started throwing things and screaming at me. We were in the common room, and he noticed that he was making a scene so he shut up. That night, I woke up in the middle of the night and saw him standing over me" Now, she was trying to hold back her tears, "and he said he was so disappointed in me… that I didn't trust him, or value our friendship, he said 'how can you betray me like this?' he couldn't believe that I actually thought he punched you. But I saw it with my own eyes, I didn't say anything to him, I was much too tired to argue, I just nodded. I rolled over to go back to sleep and he asked why I was turning my back on him, did I not want to see him? I told him I did want to see him, but I was just tired. He went on again saying how disappointed he was. When I didn't answer he seemed to take it as an insult, so, once again, he had one of his tantrums. He tried to control it, but he was getting louder and louder."   
Draco nodded encouragingly.   



	5. A New Romance

"I tried to calm him down, to get him to be quiet. He wouldn't stop, so I told him that he was the closest friend I have ever had. I said that I could never replace him, and I would never turn my back on him in any sense. I think that was enough for him, so he was relaxed again. I don't know what to do about him, I have no idea why he is doing this-- he's changed so much over the summer!"   
"listen, Hermione, I know this is hard for you. You won't like what I'm going to say, but I have to say it… You have to stay away from Harry. I know he is a close friend of yours, but couldn't you try to be more distant from him? If he has another tantrum anytime soon, be sure to tell me about it."   
"what are you going to do if I tell you?"   
"I don't know what I can do, but I'll find some way. I can't let him go around doing this, hurting people. It will probably get worse later, just try to stay away from him."   
--------

Hermione and Draco sat together in silence until slivers of pink could be seen in the sky and both of them knew they should be getting back.   
"Thanks for being here, but I think we should go now."   
"yea" said Draco   
They stood up and headed into the castle   
"Draco, I know you don't like me much, but I'm really grateful to you for being here for me. I needed to tell someone about this all, and thanks for not blowing up at me and for being so understanding…"   
"no problem"   
Both of them went back to their common room and got their things. They didn't have any classes together that day, but even so, by the end of the day, Draco was still thinking about Hermione. He had experienced how horrible Harry could be, but Harry was always horrible to him… Was it possible that he would do something of the sort to Hermione too? _but why? _Draco asked himself over and over again _why in the world do I care so much what happens with them? It is none of my business… why do I feel like I have to protect her? _  
-----

A couple of days later Draco saw Hermione walking down a corridor.   
"hey, do you have a class right now?" Draco asked her   
"no, why?"   
"I, uh, I wanted to talk to you…"   
"ok…" she said, a little suspicious "what about?"   
"Harry. I just want to know if he's gotten any worse… or if he has gotten any better…"   
"no… he certainly hasn't gotten better" she said, looking at her feet "but I don't think he's gotten too much worse either"   
"is there anything I can do for you?   
"no," she looked up and smiled at him, "thanks for offering though"   
"no problem" after a minute or two of standing in silence, Draco said "ok, well I should go now… bye"   
"bye Draco"

-----

As Draco was walking back to his common room, a tiny little thought kept trying to creep its way into his mind. Draco kept pushing it back, or trying to push it back, but as he was on his way to his next class and he saw Hermione walking with a couple girls and she looked up and smiled at him, the thought finally came through to the front of his mind.   
_I like her _the thought kept screaming. Draco felt his heart skip a beat, and then went on trying to tell himself to get real.   
_no, no, no! I DO NOT like her! I DO NOT like Hermione granger… _  
_yes you do, _the other thought kept saying _you like her a lot _  
_Hermione? Hermione granger? I like her? No way! _  
_there's no use hiding it, tell her about it _  
Draco kept arguing with himself for a couple of minutes until he noticed a couple of people staring at him and he realized that he must look pretty stupid, so he went into class and tried his best to focus.

-----

At the end of the day, Draco had come up with a conclusion… he in fact DID like Hermione… a LITTLE BIT. _its not that big of a deal _he kept telling himself _I wont tell anyone, and I'll just ignore it for a while… it will go away soon _  
When a couple of days had passed, Draco felt proud of himself. He had not done anything to increase his feelings for Hermione. He had ignored her completely… he couldn't say that he had insulted her, but he didn't expect himself to. I mean… at least he wasn't being _nice _to her. 

-----

From then on, every time Draco saw Hermione he had to force himself to think _Draco, she's a mudblood! A filthy little mudblood! Her parents were muggles! _  
He hope that this would make him stop liking her, but it didn't help much. Every time he thought this something in the back of his mind kept saying _so what? So what if she's muggle born? It doesn't mean anything _  
Draco forced himself to concentrate on schoolwork in every class he was in with Hermione. He couldn't think about anything that had to do with her, it would only make it worse.   
At the end of one Charms class she, Weasley, and Potter were walking out of the classroom in front of Draco, Crabbe and Goyle. As soon as potter heard Draco's voice he turned around. 

----

Draco walked past Harry and the others silently, but Harry didn't like that.   
"oh, come on, Malfoy… are you scared or something?" potter persisted   
"I'm not scared" Draco said still walking   
Now Harry was following him.   
"just throw something at me, Malfoy! What? Have you suddenly gone soft on us? No more insults left?"   
Draco was using all his strength to stop himself from taking Harry's bait. He wasn't planning on doing this again. Especially not here… in front of Hermione…

----

"Malfoy! Come back here! You wouldn't want to end up in the Hospital wing like last time, do you?"   
"WHAT?" Ron said suddenly   
Harry looked over at him, and realized that he had just told Ron and Hermione that he was the one who put Draco in the Hospital the time before.   
"you told me he fell down some stairs!" Ron bellowed   
"yea…" Harry said nervously "he did…"   
"what? I didn't fall down any stairs!" Draco yelled back at Harry   
"why did you lie to us, Harry?"   
"er" Harry stammered

------

Crabbe and Goyle had apparently just realized that there was an argument going on. So, they tried to _help _Draco.   
"yea! Lying is bad! You are bad!" Crabbe said, and then backed off, looking very pleased with himself.   
Harry gave a very harsh laugh. "so, Malfoy, you finally taught your body guard to talk, eh?"   
"we know how to talk!" Goyle spoke up "we are talking! T-O-K-I-N-G! ha! See! I'm smart!"   
Harry gave another laugh.

----

"shut up, you two" Draco said to Crabbe and Goyle   
Ron was still suspicious, though. "Harry, did you curse Draco? Is that why he was in the hospital wing about a month ago?"   
Draco was looking from Ron to Harry apprehensively. Was Harry planning on telling the truth? _well, if he's not going to tell them, I certainly will _Draco told himself.   
Hermione was giving Harry and Ron exactly the same look Draco was giving them.   
"Harry? Were you ever planning on telling me and Hermione about this?"   
"yeah, of course" Harry answered   
Hermione must have thought that her staying silent through all of this might have been a little awkward, so she finally spoke up " when, Harry?"


	6. Why?

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Disclaimer: Ok, well yall already kno that I don't own any of this… so go on keep reading!

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A/n: Plz read and review!!! And thanks for the reviews I have gotten so far! Tell me what ya think of this story and I'll work on changing what I do wrong….. BUT I won't know what I'm doing wrong if you don't review! So get out there and….. Um….. REVIEW!!! Yay!!! =D

****

"Oh, come on, you guys…" Harry said, trying to get rid of some of the tension, "why are you all ganging up on me like this? You are my friends, you should trust me, right?"   
Ron appeared to be falling for this, but since Hermione knew the real story, she didn't seem to want to let Harry get off so easily.   
"harry, if we are truly your friends… why didn't you tell us? We would have understood… we would have been on your side" she said looking at Draco with a look that suggested that she was probably lying about this.   
Ron was looking at Harry doubtfully, and Harry was glaring, with loathing, at Draco.   
"Malfoy! Look what you've done! You've caused an argument with my friends!"   
"it's not his fault" Hermione said in a small voice   


----

"ok, Hermione… I'm going to pretend you didn't say that. Let's go. We'll talk about this later… away from Malfoy." Harry said   
He and Ron started walking up the marble staircase and left Hermione there, still looking at Draco with sad eyes.   
"Hermione, are you coming?" Harry asked, halfway up the stairs   
"yea, I just have to pick up my books," Hermione called up to Harry "you go on without me, I'll catch up"   
Harry opened his mouth as if to object but Ron said "okay" before Harry could do anything.   
Hermione picked up her books and walked over to Draco.   
"I need to talk to you" she whispered, making sure that Crabbe and Goyle were a good distance away "I need to talk to you, soon"   
"ok, ok… er… meet me in the in front of the girls bathroom on the first floor tonight after dinner"   
"in front of the girls bathroom?" Hermione asked, smiling at him   
"yea, just so you can tell Protective Potter that you need to take a dump or something" he said smiling. They both laughed… that was the first time anyone saw Draco Malfoy really, truly laugh.

----

At dinner that night Draco ate as quickly as he could. He had finished with his meal in less than 5 minutes. After that, he left the Great Hall and walked quickly to the girls bathroom. He got to the bathroom and sat on the floor in front of it. People passing turned to stare at him, but he merely smiled sarcastically at them until they left. After a couple of minutes, Draco saw Hermione walking swiftly towards him.   
"hi" he said seriously "what did you want to talk about? Has Harry been--"   
"that's what I want to talk to you about"   
Draco nodded   
"Ever since you found out about Harry… you have, well, _changed _"   
"changed in a good way? Or a bad way?"   
"good, definitely good. But my curiosity has gotten he better of me, and I just have to ask…"   
Draco thought he knew what was coming   
"why?"   
"why have I changed? yea, I've been wondering the same thing ever since that night that I found you crying outside… it just sort of _happened. _I certainly never expected it to, it just did. There's something I never told you…. About that night. The reason I was out was because I had just had a dream- a nightmare, really- about… you"   
"tell me"   
Draco looked around and then took Hermione by the arm and led her to an empty classroom. **There he explained the dream…**

That's all for now, folks!!


	7. Anger

For a while Hermione was silent, looking only at her feet, but then she looked up, into Draco's eyes.   
"that night… the night you found me outside crying… I never really told you the reason I was there. I told you that I was there because recently Harry had been acting really strange, but I never told you what exactly happened that night.. I was in the common room and he had just asked me out. I think he was trying to show off to the people in there because he stood on a table and yelled out 'Hermione Granger! We have been friends for a while; I think we should be speeding up the pace, if you know what I mean' and then he winked at me and continued 'so, herms, will you go out with me?'   
And I had been just making my way up to bed, I had no idea, so you can imagine my surprise. Ron didn't seem to know either, because when Harry made his little proposition he looked up from his work, his mouth hanging open, apparently in shock.   
Well all I could think to do was to take Harry down from the table and into a corner of the common room. I told him exactly this: 'Harry, we have been the best of friends for so long… but I really don't know if our relationship would work out if we were any more than friends…' up until that point Harry had been beaming and winking at everyone, he felt so sure that I wouldn't turn him down, but I did, and he didn't exactly like that"

"he started muttering to himself and as I was going up to my dormitory I thought I heard him say something like 'ill get her back for this.' I thought I was just imagining, I mean, Harry was a great person, he doesn't say things like that…

So I just went up to my dormitory and was putting on my pajamas when I heard something downstairs; it sounded like something breaking.

So I ran downstairs and there was a huge crowd in the far corner, so I ran over to see what was going on when I saw Harry… I had never seen him look like that, he had so much hate in his eyes and I looked down at the floor and saw Ron lying there, bleeding from anywhere visible. I didn't know what to do, I just stood there for a few seconds in shock, but then I jumped in front of Ron and asked Harry what he was doing, but he took one look at me and walked away…I took Ron to the hospital wing and after he was able to speak again he said that Harry had blown up at him because he had said maybe it was for the best that I wouldn't accept to be with him.

I couldn't believe Harry would do this to his best friend, so I decided to take a walk…. And _that's_ when you found me…"

Hermione finished her story and was looking deep into Draco's eyes.

"oh, I can see why that would make you cry… I mean, I have never had anyone that I was as close to as you are to Harry and Ron, but I can just imagine how that would make you feel…"

Draco looked down at his watch and quickly stood up. "it's almost 9:00, that means we must have been here for around three hours…"

"oh my goodness, 9:00? I was supposed to help Harry and Ron with their potions homework tonight! I have to go… bye Draco, thanks for listening"

"Hermione, I'm really sorry about Harry… just… don't let him take advantage of you, don't let him scare you or threaten you into doing things for him, and DON'T agree to be his girlfriend, that is, unless you really, truly feel you should…"

"I know...bye, Draco"

Draco sat on the floor of the empty classroom for awhile… he had never seen Harry as the violent type of person. He never liked Harry, and had always made fun of him, but the whole point of that was to see how he would squirm trying to say something back while he was being held back by Ron and Hermione. Now, Harry wasn't being held back anymore, he was hurting whoever he wanted, and it didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon…

Draco had never, ever expected Harry to turn on Ron, and for no good reason. It might not have been such a shock if it were someone else but, to his _best friend_?

And what if he went after Hermione next? Draco couldn't let that happen…His feelings for Hermione had not gone away as he had hoped they would, instead they were getting stronger everyday.

Draco knew he needed to stop his feelings from growing even more, but for some reason he didn't _want _to… he wanted to keep his feelings for Hermione just the same.

Weeks passed and Hermione and Draco kept having regular meetings. Hermione swore that Harry hadn't done anything violent to her or Ron lately, and Draco believed her… but Draco didn't believe that this meant that Hermione should let down her guard… Harry was still dangerous to her. Draco was doing all that he could to comfort Hermione, to protect her. She never again asked why he had changed so much, but instead, she accepted it. She went to Draco very often, they talked to each other almost every day now. Harry and Ron didn't know anything about it of course, but Draco noticed that Ron didn't seem to be a cruel anymore… of course Harry stayed the same, but there was something telling Draco that Hermione was really trying to put a stop to him attacking Draco.

So many times when Draco and Hermione met, they completely got off the subject of Harry, they would sit and laugh together. Over time, they both completely forgot that they used to be enemies. They trusted each other, and told each other all their secrets.

There was just one secret Draco was keeping from her, the fact that with every one of their meetings, his feelings for her became more intense.

One day Hermione walked in to what was now their meeting place. They weren't using that empty classroom anymore, they had found somewhere much better, the Room of Requirement. Draco had never been in this room before, the magic it possessed intrigued him completely. Most of the time they went in there together it looked just like a large living room… There were the most comfortable couches imaginable, and the room was decorated with all sorts of things. Many times the two found themselves just looking around the room silently at the marvelous things hanging on the walls. There was a refrigerator in the back of the room, they thinking about what they were craving and opening the fridge to find it there waiting for them. 

Hermione and Draco had tons of fun in that room. They saw more of each other than they saw of anyone else, yet… Draco could not bring himself to tell Hermione how he felt. She didn't seem to think of him in a romantic way, she seemed to look at him like a best friend, someone to go to for advice and help….

**__**

I brought this on myself Draco told himself**, _if I hadn't started out this relationship on a basis of advice and friendship, she would see me as more than just a friend…we could be together right now…_**

**__**

Disclaimer: I don't own anything here but the plot.

**__**

A/n: Yay!! I got it to work!!! OK, well this chapter is longer than the last one… so that's good. And I will try to post more often but don't expect anything in the next week.. I have finals…. Ugh! So, yeah, please review!! 

~~Rita


	8. The New Guy

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A/n: Hope everyone's enjoying the story so far! Ok, well here's another chapter for ya!

And thnx to my reviewers so far:

Duckie9

Moonwonderer

Crystal369

Woodelf193

Gingitsune Girl

Trapt*ROCKS* my world

ProwlingKitKat

L'acqua

Purest Evil 

and

Jared+ Nicole

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Disclaimer: I owe all this to JK Rowling. Except the plot! =D

**__**

ChApTeR 8~~ The New Guy

_______

One day, Draco was laying on a bed in the R.o.R alone, just thinking. He couldn't stop scolding himself about how he had messed this up. He could have been the guy Hermione falls head over heels in love with. Instead, he ended up being like a big brother to her.

Just then, the door opened and Hermione came into the room. She took off her jacket and walked over to the fridge and took out some Mint Oreos. She put one in her mouth, closed her eyes, and said "mmm…"

Draco just sat there watching her with a grin on his face. Then she opened her eyes and saw Draco and turned red. "oh…hi, Draco. I didn't see you there" she said laughing.

"You enjoying that Oreo?" he asked smirking at her.

"Yes, I am!" she said, sitting down next to Draco "How are you?"

"Great… you?"

"I'm good… just enjoying my Oreo" she said smiling at him.

The next hour went by just like any other. They talked, Draco fantasized, and Hermione laughed. She still had no idea how Draco felt. To him, it felt like he was unintentionally giving the most obvious signs. He would always catch himself staring at her with a smile on his face. Or he always turned red when she said something nice to him. Every conversation he had with her he would replay in his mind over and over again trying to analyze what her every word could mean and thinking of thing that he _could've _said, but didn't. 

Soon enough, it was time for them to go to class. Hermione said goodbye to Draco and left. Draco sat there for a couple minutes and then headed off to the common room to get his books. He had Arithmancy next. Draco went up to his dormitory, grabbed his bag, and was off. The Arithmancy classroom was around the Gryffindor common room. _With any luck, I'll see Hermione, _he thought to himself. 

As Draco was passing the common room, he was looking around in search of Hermione, though trying not to make it too obvious. Just then, he saw a head of bushy brown hair. "That's her!" Draco accidentally said out loud. He looked around to make sure no one had heard him, and then walked toward her to say hi. Just then, a guy walked up behind Hermione and put his hands over her eyes.

"hey 'Mione… guess who!" he said flirtatiously

"Hi David," she said turning around, the guy had his arms wrapped around Hermione's waist now.

"How'd ya know it was me?" he asked

"You're the only guy who ever calls me 'Mione"

"Well good then, I'm special"

"Yeah… you are," Hermione grinned at him "Come on, we have to get to class"

They walked away together endlessly flirting, and all the while Draco was standing a couple feet away listening to their every word.


	9. Jealousy

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AN: OK, sorry about the last chappie being so short, I didn't notice that until after I posted it! Heh… yah I can be stupid like that… well neways… I'll try to make this one longer for ya! 

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Disclaimer: Do I really have to put this on _every_ chapter?? Ok, well… JK Rowling owns everything… yada yada yada

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Chapter 9: Draco's Jealousy

…They walked away together endlessly flirting, and all the while Draco was standing a couple feet away listening to their every word. '_Damnit!!' _Draco yelled, kicking the wall. '_what the hell does he think he's doing going up to Hermione like that?' _Draco stood at that spot cursing and kicking until people came out and started staring at him.

~*~

__

*About an hour earlier*

~*~

Hermione was on her way to Transfiguration class when she felt someone come up behind her and put their hands over her eyes. 

"Hey 'Mione, guess who?" a guy's voice had said

She knew who it was right away, the only guy to call her by that name was a extremely flirtatious Ravenclaw named David.

He was a tall boy with amazingly bright blue eyes. His hair was a dirty-blonde color and had lighter colored highlights in it, and it was brushed forward, so it wasn't spiked like most of the other guys in the school.

Hermione had met David while tutoring a fourth year Gryffindor girl who turned out to be David's sister. They got to talking and were now pretty close. No one knew that the two even knew each other. Hermione never talked to Harry and Ron about guys so that wasn't anything new. At first, Hermione did feel a little bit guilty about not telling Draco. They told each other every thing, and Hermione was keeping this to herself. _But I mean, it's not like we're going out _Hermione kept telling herself _its no big deal not to tell him, I don't have to keep him informed on every little aspect of my life!_

But even after much persuasion, she still felt guilty.

~*~ 

Draco's POV

~*~

__

'Ugh! I can't believe she didn't tell me! She told me when Neville Longbottom asked to copy her homework, for God's sake! She couldn't have forgotten to tell me that there's a boy who very much likes her and she doesn't seem to be rejecting him… It's ok… I just won't think about it. I'm sure she will tell me soon. Don't worry, Draco, it's fine.'

Draco headed to his class, and although he tried to busy himself with taking notes and reading and rereading what he was supposed to be doing, his mind kept wandering back to Hermione and what she was doing with this _David. _

'What kind of name is David anyway? No sane person would name their child David… it's so.. so… Oh, what's the point? Hermione obviously doesn't think the name is so bad. Oh, God, I wish I could see what they were doing right now. Wait a minute, what am I thinking? No I don't! For all I know, they could be fucking (ehh… am I allowed to say that word in a PG-13 story??) _each other right now. No, no they're not…It's okay, Draco, just concentrate.'_

After Draco got out of his class, he had to pass by the Gryffindor Commonroom again. He wasn't entirely sure if he wanted to or not, but it didn't really matter what he _wanted_ to do right now anyway. As he approached the corridor where the commonroom was located, he heard yelling.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"I'm not doing anything, Potter, back off!" '_wow, this guy sounds a lot like me' _Draco thought.

"You know what? You can't just walk around like you're the king of the world, you know?"

"what are you talking about? You're insane!"

As Draco walked forward he saw that the person that was yelling at Harry was none other than… 

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A/N: Ok, that's really dumb and it's really easy to guess who the person is (or maybe it just is to me, cuz I'm writing it…), and I know that this chapter was just about as short as the last ones, and I'm sorry about that… but isn't it good that I'm posting more often now?? =D LoL, I'm such a dork… ok well, yah, that's enough of me blabbering for now……… okie doke bye every1

~~~~~~Rita 


	10. The Fight

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Harry Potter. That all belongs to…. Yep! U guessed it! JK Rowling!!!!!!

A/n: Yah I kno! Past couple chappies have been really short… I'm working on it!

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Chapter 10

*…Fight! Fight! Fight!…*

As Draco walked forward he saw that the person that was yelling at Harry was none other than…David! 

"Craig! You better watch out! Don't act smart with me!"

"Potter, you dumbass! I'm not acting smart. What the hell are you talking about? I don't walk around like I'm the king of anything!"

"yes you do! Walking around with Hermione like that! Putting your arms around her waist… and maybe she didn't notice, but as you were coming here I saw you trying to slip your hands up her shirt. Good thing I stopped you in time!"

Draco heard a tiny, but audible gasp to the right. He turned and saw Hermione standing a couple feet away, clearly in shock, he made sure not to let her see him, though.

"Listen Potter, it's none of your business what I do with Hermione! As long as she is happy, we can do _anything!"_

"you wanna bet?"

"you wanna bet that I can't do anything I want with Hermione? That's insane! Why on earth wouldn't I be able to do anything I want with her?"

"because you wont be alive to do it!" Harry yelled and then ran headfirst at David kicking, punching, biting, pulling, pinching or doing anything he could think of to hurt him.

"no! stop!" Hermione shouted "someone do something before they hurt each other!"

But no one seemed to want to help. Instead, they either took a step away or started cheering "FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

Hermione took a deep breath and then said "Fine! Don't help! Leave them to kill each other! I'll just have to do t myself!"

Draco wanted to be one of the ones that left… or even one of the ones who were cheering, but he just stood there debated what he should do. He knew he couldn't let Hermione go in there and try to stop them. Who knew what Harry might do? He might start fighting with her the same way he was doing to David right now… _ouch! That looked like it hurt! _But time was running out… Draco had to decide. Was he going to leave and pretend he never saw anything, or was he going to try to break up the fight? 

Well, if he chose the second choice there was an up side and a down side. The up side was that he would be majorly helping out Hermione. She wouldn't be able to stop this thing without him. The down side was that he would also be helping out… _David. _And that was the last thing he wanted to do. And if he chose the first choice…well, the up side was that David, who was a major threat, might be seriously hurt, or lets just say… he might stop being a threat at all. The down side was that if he didn't stop this, Hermione might, and probably would be hurt. 

By the time Draco had gotten all this thinking done, Hermione had reached the two and was apparently trying to figure out what to do, or where to start. She tried sticking her hand in between them but then they moved and her hand was almost squished. 

Draco didn't know what else to do. He had to help her… he couldn't just watch as she tried to do this alone. Draco closed his eyes and tried to stop himself from thinking that he was only helping Hermione and David to be together. Draco opened his eyes and started running. 

Hermione looked up, "Draco! Draco! Thank God you're here! Please help me!"

Draco stopped for a second and saw that she was crying. He gave her a reassuring smile and then jumped in, grabbed Harry's collar, and pulled him back with his strong arms. **(A/N: haha sorry I just had to add that in… about the strong arms… makes him seem sexier!) **He squirmed and tried to get away from Draco but he couldn't. David tried to get up and Draco saw that he looked a lot worse when Harry wasn't on top of him. His face was bleeding. He couldn't seem to get himself up and bruises were already showing up all around his face. Draco stopped looking at him and turned back to Harry.

"Potter, I really don't think you should go around attacking people who you don't know very well." Draco said fiercely, still holding his collar.

"You can't tell me who I can or cant attack, Malfoy" Harry spat back, breaking loose of Draco's grasp. Then he turned to Hermione, "Hermione, you're not to see this boy again, do you understand?"

"You're not her father, Potter. But wait a second, you wouldn't know anything about fathers, would you? You've never had one" Malfoy said coolly, but with complete loathing in his eyes.

Once again, Harry attacked. Draco was too quick for him, though. He pulled out his wand and yelled "stupify!"

Harry froze and then fell to the ground. Draco turned around to see what had happened with Hermione and saw her on the floor next to him hugging him and brushing her fingers over where Harry had punched him. The blood was gone, though. Well, of course it was gone, Hermione was just about the smartest student at Hogwarts, how could she not know how to get rid of some blood?

She looked up and saw that Harry was on the floor and Draco was standing there looking at her.

"Draco! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!" She said as she was running over to him and then gave him a huge hug. He pulled away and looked down at her face. She was still crying, and shaking. He pulled her back close to him and closed his eyes. '_I wish we could stay this way forever, Hermione… you don't know how much it's hurting me to see you with David_'

"look, Hermione, don't worry about this. It's over, ok? Forget about it."

"I wish I could Draco.. But, you saw him… he was like a monster… I couldn't stop him. I don't know what happened. He used to be so kind and gentle…" she trailed off

They stood there for a minute hugging each other in silence then she moved away and said, "I better go, I have to see what I can do for David.."

"yeah… David… k, bye"

"bye Draco" and as she left, she gave him a little kiss on his cheek…

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A/N: Okay/…/ this one was a lil bit longer right? It should still probly be longer… but this one _was _a little bit better! Ok, well plz review! Have FuN!!!!!

~~~~Rita


	11. She Has To Know

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A/N: WOW! Ok, well first of all it's been over a year since I've updated this story… but as I was reading it over a few nights ago I decided I wanted to start writing it again. And now that I am out of school I will have a lot of free time. Second, if you are new to the story you probably wont notice but I took out the old chapter 11 "Either You Tell Her Or I Will" and replaced it with this one. The old one was just random and it wasn't really an important part of the plot so I changed it. Anyways, here's the new Chapter 11, I'll update soon.

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Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and places created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

Chapter 11- She has to know

The next day, Draco was sitting in the RoR thinking about Hermione. The Room lately had been decorated much less extravagantly than it used to be, seeing as the only purpose it now served was as Draco's occasional thinking spot. He sat staring at the floor and wondering how on earth he had fallen for Hermione so quickly and why she had fallen even more quickly for a stupid Ravenclaw.

Just then Hermione walked in and immediately spotted Draco.

"Hey!" she said smiling at him

His heart skipped a beat as he said "Hey" he tried to smile at her "You seem to be in a better mood today"

"Yea I am, thank you so much for helping David out… In case you didn't notice fighting isn't his strongest point"

Draco tried to smile at her again, he knew it must look as strained as it felt.

"Draco," Hermione said cautiously "You haven't been yourself lately. What's going on?"

Draco opened his mouth to deny that anything was bothering him, but then he wondered why he wanted to deny it. Why didn't he tell her? She should know that he was falling apart at the very sight of the two together, shouldn't she?

"I just.. I just have been wondering why you didn't tell me anything about you and David" Draco said this very quickly so that he could get it all out before he changed his mind.

Hermione walked over and sat down next to him. "oh…" she paused and looked at Draco apologetically, her big brown eyes nearly making him melt, "Well, I'm not going to deny that I kept it from you, but the thing is, as I thought it out, I really didn't see it as a big deal.. Maybe I should have mentioned it anyways, though. I know you're just trying to look out for me, Draco, like you always do" She smiled at him "I'm sorry"

Draco didn't know what to do. He felt his heart tremble every time he saw her, and especially now because she was sitting so close to him, but at her last few words he nearly exploded with frustration. Draco didn't want Hermione to stay away from David because he was trying to look out for her, it was because he wanted her for himself! Couldn't she see that? He didn't want to be the best friend anymore… he wanted to be so much more.

"Draco, I'm sorry I didn't mean to upset you.." Hermione said having clearly noticed the pained expression on Draco's face.

All of a sudden an enormous wave of anger flooded over Draco. What the hell did she have to act like this for? Couldn't she see she was doing so much more than upsetting him?

"You know what, Hermione? It doesn't matter. I don't care. I don't care about any of your problems anymore. Just leave me alone!" He stood up and headed for the door, but Hermione followed.

"W-What? Draco, I'm sorry, what's wrong? Really, this isn't all because I didn't tell you about an annoying pervert who just wants to get in everybody's pants? It was just my turn on his list, I didn't want to bother you with it, I knew I could handle it on my own.. Sure, I made it look like I was into him, but if only you could have been there when I rejected him! To see the look on his face! The only reason I didn't tell was because I didn't want you to go do something to him or something. Even though Harry seems to have taken care of that. As bothersome as he is, he is still a person. Draco, if it was anything other than a sick game on his part I would have told you, or if I felt any real threat or anything… but honestly, I really didn't think it was that big of a deal. I don't understand why you are getting so upset!"

Draco took a few deep breaths… did this mean what he thought it meant? Hermione didn't like David? Draco then ran to Hermione and gave her an enormous hug and before he knew what he was doing he found himself giving her a soft but quick kiss on the cheek then again, this time his mouth caught her chin.. and then the tip of her nose. It was like all his feelings for Hermione had just poured out at this wonderful news. He couldn't hold it in any longer. He gave her a few more quick pecks wherever his lips found a place on her face and then realized what he was doing and stepped back, not knowing what Hermione's reaction would be. He looked at her and felt his heart leap when he saw that she was grinning and then she began to giggle. A second passed in which Draco was feeling nothing but pure bliss, and then Hermione's face changed into one of sudden seriousness. She paused, looking at him, "Draco, what are you doing?"

"oh, um…" Draco's mind reeled as he tried to think of an excuse for kissing her. He sat back down on the couch and she joined him. "I'm just.. I'm just relieved, I didn't think David was a good match for you. You know Ravenclaws."

Hermione giggled again. "Yeah, you can never trust a Ravenclaw" She said, leaning her head on Draco's shoulder.

He couldn't hold it in any longer, he had to tell her…


	12. The Truth

**Disclaimer: **This story is based on characters and places created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.

**A/N: **Sorry, this chapter is short again, the chapters just always seem to end before I want them to. Maybe I should elaborate more..

Ch 12- The Truth

…He couldn't hold it in any longer, he had to tell her. His mind was racing and his heart was beating. He knew what he wanted to do, it was just so hard. What would she do… Draco had been fantasizing about this moment for weeks, but now that he was about to do it, it really didn't seem like it would turn out as he had planned. What if after he told her she laughed at him.. Or worse, what if she was disgusted at the thought.

All through Draco's thoughts, Hermione sat looking at him patiently. An eternity passed as Draco looked at Hermione and contemplated what to do, how to tell her. She sat there, knowing he had to say something, but not wanting to push him into it. Finally, Draco said extremely slowly, "Hermione, do you remember how we became friends?" Draco cringed at the last word.

"Of course, Draco. It seems like so long ago now that we've been through so much, but I do remember. I remember that night Harry asked me out…" she paused, as if remembering, "wow, I haven't thought about that night for a long time… but that was the first time I felt a real connection to you. It had been a horrible night, but I went back into the castle that day in a wonderful mood, and it was because of you."

Draco sighed. "I felt the same way, Hermione"

"Speaking of Harry, he had another tantrum last night.."

"What?" Draco said, nearly forgetting what he was about the tell Hermione, "What did he do?"

"Well, it's been a while since any of his anger has been directed at me so it came as a shock. I handled it, though. He doesn't scare me anymore, I've gotten used to it… It just upsets me that we were such good friends such a short time ago and now look at him. I'm not at all close to Ron anymore either, we're still friends, but Ron is always hanging around Fred and George now.."

"And you're always with David"

"Well, that's not exactly who I was thinking of, I was never close to him, really. He's an amusing guy, but nothing more than that, he has no brains, no compassion, no dignity… What I was going to say is that I have been spending all my time with you"

"Not recently, you haven't"

"Well, yes but I thought I explained that to you. I'm sorry anyways, it was just a selfish game I was playing with David, leading him on, you know.. I really would have rather spent the time with you"

"I would have rather you spent the time with me, too. I missed you Hermione, more than you know"

"I missed you too, Draco" she said and hugged him again

"Hermione, okay, I'd better get this over with. I have changed so much since I knew you, I used to be a cocky pureblood-obsessed son of a bitch who didn't care about anyone but myself or anything but galleons… The point is I like the change, and I like the reason for the change, you…" Draco hesitated, "I like you so much Hermione, at first I tried to fight it or ignore and hope it went away, but it didn't.. in the last few months it just intensified and I like you even more now…I guess now it makes a lot more sense why I was so upset by David."

Hermione sat looking at Draco seriously. His heart was still beating and he was now wondering if he had made the right choice in telling her.

"Yea… yea, it does make more sense… I- I don't know what to say, Draco…"

Draco looked into her eyes, "I know… I don't know what I expected you to say, I'm sorry, this was a mistake, I should have just kept it to myself"

"no, no. I'm glad you told me, I think. I just need some time to think this through. You are the sweetest guy I know, and we are such good friends, I just want to think about this before I say anything"

Draco smiled.. That didn't sound so bad. "Sure. Just tell me when you're done thinking, okay?"

"I will… See you later" She got up and left the Room without looking back.


	13. Finally

Ch 13- Finally

The next few days went by extremely slowly for Draco. It seemed like he spent all his time in the R.o.R. He was ditching classes and staying up all night, thinking. Would Hermione just hurry up and give him an answer, already? He felt frustrated and annoyed at her, but at the same time totally in love with her. Everything about her was perfect. He found himself constantly thinking about her bushy hair, her full lips, her long legs. Anytime they were in class together he was admiring her intelligence and patience as she helped Longbottom slice his newt eyes.

A couple days after Hermione and Draco's last meeting, Draco was leaving the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, and he heard someone calling his name. He turned around and saw Hermione gesturing for him to come to her. Draco nervously walked toward her and followed her into an empty classroom.

"Hey"

"Hi.." Draco replied uncertainly

"Okay, Draco. I'm going to be completely honest with you…" Draco felt his insides quiver, but nodded for Hermione to continue. "The first few days that we were talking I didn't really know what to think of you.. You had changed so much, so quickly.. Well I was thrilled to have someone like you to confide in, because Ron didn't ever do anything about it, and I obviously couldn't go to Harry. You have been such a good friend to me and I really have appreciated it. You have no idea, I can't even describe it. I just want you to know how much this friendship means to me and that that is why I hesitated for so long in telling you that… I like you too." She looked directly at Draco.

Draco stood, gaping at her, heart beating, not daring to believe what he had just heard. There was no way on earth she had just told him that she liked him… It never realistically occurred to him that this would actually happen. He thought he would get a 'lets just be friends' speech. All Draco could do was say "er-- um--thanks.." Draco paused a second while Hermione looked oddly at him. He blinked a few times, looking back at Hermione and then seemed to wake up out of a daze.

"I mean.. not thanks. I'm sorry.. I'm just happy.. So extremely unbelievably happy. AHHHH!" Draco had let out an enormous yell which eventually turned into a laugh. Hermione stood looking at him half smiling and walked up to him and slowly gave him a big hug.

She looked up into Draco's gray-blue eyes and said, "I am so glad to have you, Draco Malfoy"

Draco smiled, his heart speeding up again, and said "And I am so glad to have you, Hermione Granger"

The two stood in each other's arms for quite a while, saying nothing but just being happy to be with each other, finally.


End file.
